


Creche Meetings

by Morgyn Leri (morgynleri)



Series: Daerja [1]
Category: Star Wars Prequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, GFY, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-17
Updated: 2014-10-17
Packaged: 2018-02-21 14:16:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2471207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/morgynleri/pseuds/Morgyn%20Leri
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>They're supposed to be trying to sleep, but meeting new people is better than staring at the wall.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Creche Meetings

**Author's Note:**

> The dates used are based on using the Ruusan Reformation as the beginning of an era. This is the first story in a series, starting about half a century before events in _The Phantom Menace_ , and probably not ending until sometime during events in the original trilogy.
> 
> Unbeta'd, so all mistakes mine.

_Republic Date 914:7:21_

The person is shorter than he is, he thinks, and humanoid, but he doesn't think they're human. It's hard to tell at night, but not as hard as in the creche rooms as out here. He shifts a little, trying to look closer without moving out of the bush he's hiding in so Master Alliard can't find him out here when he's supposed to be in bed. It makes the other youngling look up, eyes looking straight at him from a face with a nose that flares as they draw breathe. Smelling him, so not human.

"I won't tell anyone if you don't." The voice is quiet, and not the same sort of sound as other younglings. A little more like the older younglings, the ones who will be Padawans soon. "There's room enough around the pool to share."

He tilts his head, then creeps out of the shrub, and walking over to plop down across the pool from the other youngling. It's a pretty pool, that flows away in a stream through the rest of the garden. From here, he can see more, at least a bit. High-set ears that look soft, and curly hair that grows in more places than human hair.

"I'm Riaeh ol-Jaer." The words make him look at the other youngling again, who's still watching him. He wonders what color their eyes would be in the light.

"Qui-Gon Jinn." It's polite to share his name if someone else tells him theirs, and he smiles happily at the other youngling. He hopes he can make a new friend before Master Alliard comes looking for him, and sends him back to bed.

Riaeh flicks an ear, and nods after a moment, though he doesn't get a smile back. Some of his creche-mates don't smile either, because they don't like showing their teeth. It's threatening to them.

It's a long moment before he speaks again, watching Riaeh stare at the pool. "Are you a boy or a girl?"

Riaeh looks at him for a long moment, and sounds confused when asking, "What's a boy? And what's a girl?"

Qui-Gon frowns a moment before he sighs, and remembers not everyone is a boy or a girl. "A boy is a male youngling and a girl is a female youngling. I don't know if there's other words for younglings who aren't boys or girls."

Riaeh's ears flatten a moment, gaze returning to the pool. "I'm a cub, and I'm not old enough to be anything but jaer or jonnai. I can't be male or female until I'm old enough to have a mate."

Letting out a small sigh, Qui-Gon chews on his lip. He doesn't know what it means to be jaer or jonnai.

"What's Jinn?" Riaeh's voice makes him look up again, and frown a little.

"My family name." Qui-Gon blinks. "Is ol-Jaer a family name, or something else?"

"It's what I am." Riaeh lets out a sigh. "Families don't have names, they just _are_." Qui-Gon feels like he's being watched by Master Yoda when Riaeh looks at him for a long moment, but not as squirmy. "Je will catch us if we stay here much longer."

"Who's je?" Qui-Gon doesn't remember any of the Masters with that name, and he wonders if it even is a name when Riaeh lets out a frustrated sound.

"The creche Masters." Riaeh gets up, heading in a different direction than Qui-Gon needs to go, and almost vanishes in the garden before he scrambles to his feet, running as quietly as he can back toward the room in the creche he shares with the others his age.

Qui-Gon doesn't see Master Alliard before he manages to crawl back under his covers, and she can't scold him if he's not out of bed. Not unless she wants to wake the others, and he smiles to himself as he snuggles down a little further in his blankets, falling asleep after several moments.

He hopes he'll meet Riaeh again.

* * *

  
**Master Alliard**   
[ ](http://archivevault.nfshost.com/image/Alliard_Paint_Large.jpg)   


**Author's Note:**

> Artwork done for this story:
> 
> Master Alliard, a reptilian alien who has parallels in tortoises. She prefers looking after the younglings over most any other duty she's taken on while a Jedi, though her species is not known for having a strong sense of parental care for individual offspring. Thus, she is one of the Masters who keeps a watch over the creche.


End file.
